


Dark Angels

by sweetcarolanne



Category: Vampire Chronicles - Anne Rice
Genre: Beautiful, Blood, Childhood, Decadence, Falling In Love, Family, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Horror, Kissing, Love, M/M, Misses Clause Challenge, Vampires, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-09
Updated: 2015-11-09
Packaged: 2018-04-30 19:12:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5176436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetcarolanne/pseuds/sweetcarolanne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Claudia becomes more aware of the true nature of the relationship between her vampire fathers, Louis and Lestat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dark Angels

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Susanoo_no_Mikoto](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Susanoo_no_Mikoto/gifts).



> Dear Susanoo_no_Mikoto, I was so inspired by your prompts that I knew I had to write you this treat - I hope it is something you enjoy! 
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters, they are just playing with me! I am making no money from this, so suing is a waste of time!
> 
> Many thanks to my beta who wishes to remain anonymous.

In the days before Claudia’s mind began to mature and change, and her fury at being a woman trapped eternally in the frail body of a child started to grow and erupt forth like a spray of poisonous blossoms, she was truly happy with her two beloved fathers.

She was beautiful. She was immortal. The child Claudia had everything she could possibly desire, both materially and in terms of love and affection. The room designated for her exclusive use was a magnificent painted wonderland of white and gold and forest green. She had a splendid collection of the most expensive and beautifully crafted toys imaginable, mostly dolls with china heads and realistic wigs, and extensive wardrobes of glorious dresses, hats, shoes and jewels as elaborate as her own.

Claudia’s clothes were of silk and velvet and lace, and her flowing golden hair was brushed till glistening and kept styled in perfect, delicate ringlets. The sustenance she fed upon was always plentiful and rich and delicious – the blood drained directly from the veins of a helpless victim or sipped in luxurious decadence from the elegant fragility of a crystal glass. The taste of the blood, the thrill of seeking victims and the unspeakable pleasures of satiation delighted her so much that she did not miss the sweets and other delicacies she had tasted – although infrequently – before the Dark Gift of vampirism had been bestowed upon her.

And best of all, there was Louis, and there was Lestat.

Claudia’s vampire fathers doted upon the exquisite little girl, and with each of them she shared very special past-times. She loved to sit with Louis and have him read to her or teach her to recite poetry, and sometimes they would dance together, whirling in a sweet dizzying madness until Claudia giggled as joyfully as any mortal child. And with Lestat, there was the excitement of the hunt and the kill. 

Lestat, like Claudia, enjoyed beguiling and seducing his victims. In the same manner as Claudia liked to captivate and lure, say, an elderly gentleman or a motherly woman into buying her a doll or a cup of hot chocolate that she could not drink, Lestat delighted in finding beautiful ladies or handsome young men and charming them so completely that they fell madly in love with him, ready to offer themselves to him body and soul, before he swooped upon them to drain their lives completely away.

Most enjoyable for Claudia, however, was the time the trio spent together as a family. Stepping out of the house at night to attend the theater or the opera, drawing attention to themselves with their fashionable dress and their sheer physical beauty. The two dandified gentlemen with their exquisite taste in clothing, and the angelically lovely little girl with the flawless complexion of a porcelain doll… they turned so many heads as they gracefully moved through the crowds of people out for some evening amusement. 

Ever the silent observer, Claudia’s sharp vampire senses picked up on what the people who turned to look at the beautiful trio were saying and thinking and feeling. Not only were many of them wondering who these almost ethereal-looking folk with their near unearthly good looks were, but they were speculating about what they were to one another. The closeness and obvious affection amongst Lestat, Louis and Claudia spoke of family ties, but what was the connection between Louis and Lestat? Were they brothers, perhaps? They did not look alike, but there was a similarity about them in that their grace and attractiveness seemed almost otherworldly, and definitely out of the ordinary.

It was this covert attention from others that began to spark new thoughts in Claudia’s mind. Perhaps they were the very first hints of womanly awareness.

Claudia knew that she herself was a part of what connected the two male vampires to each other – their love for her, their taking care of her and raising her as their daughter. And there was the fact, of course, that Lestat had made Louis into a vampire. But there was something else there – something deeper and more intense than the obvious bonds that existed between those two immortal men. Claudia, with her vampire eyes, could see it clearly, but at first she struggled to find a name for it.

Their affection did not seem like a brotherly one to Claudia, from what Louis and his books had shown her of the mortal world and what little she had been able to observe of it on her own. It was true, there were tensions and arguments between the pair that the uninformed could have mistaken for family quarrels and sibling rivalry, but Claudia knew better.

Louis and Lestat complemented and completed each other in ways which even seemed to transcend their bond with Claudia. Beyond their differences of opinion – about killing, about vampire nature, and about the value of the mortal realm – there was a meeting of minds and a desire for each other’s company that seemed to give the lie to the detachment Lestat claimed to value.

So many shifts of eyes, minute gestures and light touches passed between them, imperceptible to all save Claudia. She would see the significance of the tilt of Louis’s head in response to a question of Lestat’s, or a smile from the eyes as well as the lips from Lestat at something Louis had done or said. Their tall, slender forms when they were together spoke more eloquently than words, or even thoughts, ever could.

There was one night in particular that Claudia remembered, when she had been seated, appearing to sketch beneath the brightness of several candelabra, only a small distance away. The full moon had just risen, and Louis, clad in a simple but elegant gray suit, was standing at an open window. A slightly chilly wind was barely moving the curtains, like gentle breaths, but Louis stood completely still, as if he were a painted figure in a portrait.

Lestat had stood equally as still in the doorway, watching Louis for what seemed like hours. His eyes seemed unnaturally warm, and his smile was serene and gentle, an echo of Louis’s own. 

Louis turned, sensing the other’s presence. He gasped a little, opening his mouth as if to speak, but no words came. Lestat drew closer, his smile broadening, and a pale hand reached to cup Louis’s jaw.

Still neither one of them spoke, but their arms moved slowly and with grace to embrace each other. Louis looked straight at Lestat, and their eyes locked, nothing else but each other the focus of their attention.

Even Claudia could not tell who leaned forward first, but soon their lips touched softly, lightly, before the kiss deepened and became wilder, almost ferocious with their need.

When the two vampires finally drew apart, their mouths were stained with blood – and it was impossible to know whose it was.

Lovers, Claudia had thought immediately. They are like lovers, with the way they kiss!

The next time Claudia had sat with Louis to read, the fairy tale he had selected had a romance in it between a prince and a princess. With her eyes wide and seemingly innocent, she had asked him, “Can two men or two women ever be lovers?”

Louis seemed a little startled by her question, then smiled and nodded. “Oh yes, but mortals in this day and age see such love as a sin. Perhaps it’s because two men or two women can’t have children together.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Claudia said calmly. “You and Lestat have me.”

Louis had nodded and said only, “It’s different for vampires.” But he had not denied the implication of how deep the affection ran between himself and Lestat.

And the next night, Louis read to Claudia some works by the ancient Greek poetess, Sappho. They were love poems written for other women, and they were beautiful.

Claudia saw her fathers, her dark angels, differently now, with more clarity and understanding than her previous childish attitudes had allowed. And that was beautiful too.


End file.
